Best OTC Opportunity Hunt

[teambackcountry1]

Looking for an awesome over the counter hunt where I have an opportunity for a great hunt if I work hard. Preferably a back pack hunt, any weapon choice, any species. Lower 48 states.

What hunts do you like?


"He who makes a beast of himself, gets rid of the pain
of being a man" -Samuel Johnson

 

[cmbbulldog]

AZ Deer. You can also draw a javelina tag pretty easily, they are pretty fun hunt (not eat). Great weather. Long seasons. Don't interfere with fall hunts.

 

[southslope82]

I have hunted mule deer, white tail deer, elk, bear, cougar, antelope, turkey on many different occasions with an OTC Tag and have had great experiences. Probably my favorite is Utah open bull just cause its right here in my back yard and "IF" you can find em there can be some stud bulls to be had. More than anything a hunt is what you make it!!

 

[hank4elk]

NM LO elk w/otc deer thrown in.

 

[nfh]

///I don't live far from Yellowstone. its open season on the stupid idiot bikers and tourist

 

[teambackcountry1]

@southslope82: I am from Utah too! I have hunted the OTC elk tag and had success as well! However, since I can hunt the extended archery throughout the fall, I'd like to branch out and try another species/state. I will have that elk tag in my pocket though!

"He who makes a beast of himself, gets rid of the pain
of being a man" -Samuel Johnson

 

[teambackcountry1]

>NM LO elk w/otc deer thrown
>in.

@hank4elk: I wasn't aware of the NM left over elk tags. Are they decent trophy quality and success rate? I just need a chance, but I would like to have a better chance if possible. Also, do the OTC deer tags correlate in the same unit I would be hunting elk??


"He who makes a beast of himself, gets rid of the pain
of being a man" -Samuel Johnson

 

[teambackcountry1]

>///I don't live far from Yellowstone.
>its open season on the
>stupid idiot bikers and tourist
>

@nfh: hahaha I thought that is why you guys kept Grizzly bears around up there??

"He who makes a beast of himself, gets rid of the pain
of being a man" -Samuel Johnson

 

[teambackcountry1]

>AZ Deer. You can also draw
>a javelina tag pretty easily,
>they are pretty fun hunt
>(not eat). Great weather. Long
>seasons. Don't interfere with fall
>hunts.

@cmbbulldog: I've had a few guys tell me about this hunt. I am very intrigued! Do I have to apply for the javelina in a draw or can I buy it OTC?


"He who makes a beast of himself, gets rid of the pain
of being a man" -Samuel Johnson

 

[BigFin]

I hunt a lot of these OTC tags, all over the west. The best OTC archery elk hunt is Montana, IMO. It is comparable to some of the limited entry draw hunts in some states that would take 3-5 points to draw.

Good news is, most of the elk ground in MT is open with that general tag. Better news is that in archery season, the elk are in the high grounds. Like most western states, in MT, when elk are at higher elevations, it means they are on public. Our valleys are more private ground. Once weather and hunting pressure come in rifle season, the elk start moving lower, which means more private ground.

And, if you don't get your elk in the SIX week archery season, you can come back for FIVE more weeks of rifle, if your schedule allows.

The B&C records for the last ten years show MT is second in B&C entries. If you look at the county harvested and the date harvested, a lot of those bulls were taken on general tags in archery season. And, a lot of the serious archery hunters don't enter their animals, so the number of big bulls taken is much higher.

"Hunt when you can - You're gonna' run out of health before you run out of money!"

 

[npaden]

>>NM LO elk w/otc deer thrown
>>in.
>
>@hank4elk: I wasn't aware of the
>NM left over elk tags.
>Are they decent trophy quality
>and success rate? I just
>need a chance, but I
>would like to have a
>better chance if possible. Also,
>do the OTC deer tags
>correlate in the same unit
>I would be hunting elk??
>
>
>
>"He who makes a beast of
>himself, gets rid of the
>pain
>of being a man" -Samuel Johnson
>

By LO tag he means Land Owner, not Leftover. Also the OTC deer tags are strictly for private land, no public land hunting allowed with them.

Think $$$ for the elk tag and $$ for the deer tag. If you have the money some of these tags are in units that have 2 or 3 percent drawing odds and are very much considered trophy units. Some of the elk tags can even be used on both private and public land anywhere in the unit they are for.

 

[cmbbulldog]

Apply for it in the draw, but many tags are undersubscribed for (at least they used to be), so in many places you could just pick one up.

The easiest thing to do is figure out where you want to hunt deer, and then just apply for a Javelina tag. Its not too late for January next year.




>>AZ Deer. You can also draw
>>a javelina tag pretty easily,
>>they are pretty fun hunt
>>(not eat). Great weather. Long
>>seasons. Don't interfere with fall
>>hunts.
>
>@cmbbulldog: I've had a few guys
>tell me about this hunt.
>I am very intrigued! Do
>I have to apply for
>the javelina in a draw
>or can I buy it
>OTC?
>
>
>"He who makes a beast of
>himself, gets rid of the
>pain
>of being a man" -Samuel Johnson
>

 

[flyingspearnv]

Hey NFH,
I'm gonna be one of those idiot tourists here in a few weeks, sent you a PM inquiring about some local info to get away from the crowds for some fishing, hiking, glassing and so on. Any info would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
FlyingspearNV

 

[hank4elk]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-10-14 AT 07:54PM (MST)[p]The Landowner tags in my unit,12, are ranch only. Deeded lands.
One of the top BC producing counties in country,Catron county,NM.
You can get anyweapon elk tag good for any 5 consecutive days,Oct.1st-Dec.31st.
Buy the LO authorazation,the lic and you can get a OTC deer tag for same ranch you elk hunt,or nearby.Not many deer but some decent ones.
Elk are the real deal. Lot's of them here. Check the books.

You can get UW tags for nearby units,13,15,16's ,etc. ,but UW tags are for same areas that draw hunts are,and same time.Way more hunters then.
The OTC deer tags are for deeded ranch lands.

So it's a tradeoff. Private lands to yourself. Or tons of public and some private lands and all the other hunters too.

And the ES LO tags in my unit are for most of Sept. Not broken into 3 hunts like draw.
But you said any weapon,that starts in Oct.,right at peak of rut,into winter.

Now by opportunity hunt, do you mean meat hunt? Get a cow tag.

Otherwise be ready to pass on 340 bulls,to get to the real big ones.

 

[twsnow18]

Take Fin's advice. Your best bets would be Montana elk, Deer/elk/bears in Idaho, or Colorado elk.

Not gonna find any easier to get tags than those, with a great chance of filling them any of them.

 

[leonard]

Bigfin - Are there still lots of elk on public land in SW MT later in the season? I understand they respond to pressure, but I'm planning on hunting the Anaconda/Fleecer or Dillon area where public lands are dominate in Nov. I understand areas in the Bridgers or Bozeman areas elk get forced to private lands. I can't hunt archery due to construction season. Good luck




I hunt a lot of these
>OTC tags, all over the
>west. The best OTC
>archery elk hunt is Montana,
>IMO. It is comparable
>to some of the limited
>entry draw hunts in some
>states that would take 3-5
>points to draw.
>
>Good news is, most of the
>elk ground in MT is
>open with that general tag.
> Better news is that
>in archery season, the elk
>are in the high grounds.
> Like most western states,
>in MT, when elk are
>at higher elevations, it means
>they are on public.
>Our valleys are more private
>ground. Once weather and
>hunting pressure come in rifle
>season, the elk start moving
>lower, which means more private
>ground.
>
>And, if you don't get your
>elk in the SIX week
>archery season, you can come
>back for FIVE more weeks
>of rifle, if your schedule
>allows.
>
>The B&C records for the last
>ten years show MT is
>second in B&C entries.
>If you look at the
>county harvested and the date
>harvested, a lot of those
>bulls were taken on general
>tags in archery season.
>And, a lot of the
>serious archery hunters don't enter
>their animals, so the number
>of big bulls taken is
>much higher.
>
>"Hunt when you can - You're
>gonna' run out of health
>before you run out of
>money!"

 

[BigFin]

>Bigfin - Are there still lots
>of elk on public land
>in SW MT later in
>the season? I understand they
>respond to pressure, but I'm
>planning on hunting the Anaconda/Fleecer
>or Dillon area where public
>lands are dominate in Nov.
>I understand areas in the
>Bridgers or Bozeman areas elk
>get forced to private lands.
>I can't hunt archery due
>to construction season. Good luck
>

Hmmmm. That is very situational dependent. If there is a lot of private land down lower, odds are most the elk will be there after a couple weeks of rifle pressure and hard weather. Not all, but most.

If there is not much private for them to gravitate to, they will be around, but will be in the tough areas. In all areas, the last to migrate are the biggest bulls. And some years, they might hang really high, in the really rough stuff, recovering from the rut and eeking out a living until season is over.

Those areas you are talking about have some areas with a lot of private and where you will probably find a lot of the elk by mid-season. Some of the areas near where you are going are pretty far from private, so you will still have bulls on public, just in some pretty rough country.

Due to all of those variables, the MT archery tag elk is the best OTC option I can think og. Way more predictable that the elk will be on public and some really good bulls on public. Too bad that hunt doesn't fit your schedule.

 

[leonard]

Bigfin, thanks for the advice on MT elk. I will have lots of time in Nov, so I hope to make it happen.

 

[BOHNTR]

For deer, Arizona archery over-the-counter tags are hard to beat, in my opinion. While not a lot of backpacking type opportunities (exception is Coues), hunting mature record class bucks (Mule Deer or Coues Deer) in the rut is about as good as it gets.

For backpacking (wilderness) type hunts that are OTC for archery and rifle, believe it or not California is hard to beat for B&C class Columbian Blacktail. The B zones have several areas that meet what you're looking for.

For elk, I think Fin is spot on......probably Montana for trophy class bulls.

BOHNTR )))---------->